Flirtatious Felines
by RocksandCoffee
Summary: Kate meets Mal and Joey, then the night gets quite interesting. Part three in the "Kitten Tales" series ("Cat Calls" and "Kitty Connivance"). Takes place some time before season three.


**Flirtatious Felines**

 **Disclaimer:** Not mine. Last I checked, they belonged to ABC of Borg. ;)

 **Summary:** Kate meets Mal and Joey, then the night gets quite interesting. Part three in the "Kitten Tales" series ("Cat Calls" and "Kitty Connivance"). Takes place some time before season three.

 **A/N:** Dusted this off and decided to post. I'm pretty sure it was beta-ed a long time ago, but we'll say all mistakes are mine anyway. Also, It would be a good idea to read the other stories in the series first, if you're not already familiar with the kittens.

 _For every one having a bad week. I hope this helps. :)_

* * *

The doorbell rang, and Castle practically ran to the door. Kate was a bit early, but it always sent a jolt into his heart when she came to visit.

He turned the knob and pulled the door back, waving her inside. "Good evening," he said, "Please, come in and have a seat."

"Hi," she said, smiling as she stepped inside. "So, where are they?"

Castle sighed. It was true, she didn't come here to see him. She was here to see the kittens, and couldn't possibly be any cuter, the way she looked around the loft, eyes searching. "Honestly? I have no idea. They've been hiding a lot today."

"That's too bad," Kate replied, and took a seat on the couch. Almost immediately, Malcolm jumped into her lap and made himself quite comfortable.

Castle, however, nearly came out of his skin. "OH! Beckett... um.. don't make any sudden movements..." After being attacked by Mal a few days ago, he was terrified the cat might go crazy on her.

She froze, her eyes wide. "Why? Is he okay?"

"No, he's the mean one!"

Kate rolled her eyes and fluffed the short black fur between Mal's ears. "He seems sweet to me."

Mal closed his eyes and purred loudly as she pet him and then curled him into her arms. When her eyes met his, Castle hoped the horror he was feeling wasn't obvious on his face. "He would've had me by now, if he wanted to, Castle."

Her words could be taken in so many ways. He tried to look away, but the way her eyes narrowed told him she was thinking the same. He swallowed hard, "Oh, okay."

If Kate was okay with the cat, so was he. Maybe.

Joey chose that moment to jump onto the back of the couch, just behind Kate's neck. She giggled as she picked the kitten up. "And this must be Joey?"

The room was silent, and Castle realized she'd asked him a question. "Um.. yeah. Yeah, that one is Joey. He's-" If she only knew how adorable she was with the kittens.

As Kate tried to set Joey beside Mal, he howled and all the claws came out. She let him down quickly to her right, and just as suddenly, Malcolm was wide awake. He stepped to her left, and the two kittens glared at each other, backs bowed and fur standing in all directions.

Castle silently prayed the cats wouldn't kill her during this visit. And if she survived, she wouldn't shoot him afterward.

"What are they doing?" Beckett asked, and when he didn't answer immediately, she demanded, "Castle!?"

He jumped by her side, reaching a hand toward her. "I don't know, but if I were you, I'd get up and move away before they fight."

She nodded and slowly moved away from them.

"Mal's usually the one that causes trouble," he explained as the kittens circled each other. "I don't have a clue what's going on with Joey today."

The two kittens continued their staring contest with ears laid back and tails twitching angrily. Eventually, Mal looked away, and Joey relaxed and sat to bathe his paw before jumping off the couch to find Kate.

The gray and white kitten looked up at her as he happily rubbed against her leg and mewwed.

Kate exchanged a look with Castle, then picked the kitten up. "They're cute, but it looks like you've got your hands full."

"Yeah, I never knew the extent of the changes they'd bring when I agreed to let Alexis keep them." He smiled, and stroked Joey's back, relieved things didn't go as bad as he thought they might. "There is definitely not a dull moment in my life now."

The kitten pushed out of Kate's arms, and she let him drop to the floor. "What is he doing now?"

"Honestly, I haven't seen him act like this before. Joey's my calm and collected kitty."

She laughed, "That's funny, I thought they belonged to Alexis."

"What can I say?" Castle said with a shrug, "Joey chose me... or so I thought."

Mal chose that moment to howl from the back of the couch, and Joey attacked. A blur of black, gray, and white rolled all over the couch and continued onto the floor before Joey chased Mal upstairs. Sounds of running and maybe a few things being knocked over came from the second floor, followed by silence.

Castle gently took Kate's hand and guided her back to the couch, hoping to move along from the crazy cat excitement. "Come on, have a seat. I'll start the movie." He hoped the kittens weren't scaring her off with their weird behavior.

In a few moments, the beginning titles of the movie scrolled across the screen. When he turned to join Kate on the couch, he was surprised to find Joey in her lap. The little gray ball of fur was purring furiously with his eyes closed as Kate rubbed under his chin with her finger.

"I guess I've been replaced," said Castle, as he took a seat beside her, "but I couldn't pick a better person to be replaced with."

"Thanks," she said, then leaned a little against his shoulder. Joey stopped purring, and they both stopped moving.

Across the room, Malcolm sat, loudly ignoring them, but once or twice, he might have glanced their way, his golden eyes glowing in the dim light.

"You know, Castle, I think I've seen that look before," said Kate.

He wasn't sure what she meant by that, but then, he was more than a little distracted (again) as she lifted Joey and touched her nose to his. "You're just the cutest kitten I've ever seen, Joey," she cooed, and the smile she wore was simply breath-taking.

It almost made him speechless, seeing this side to Kate. There was so much about her he adored... so much he wanted to tell her... if he could only find a way.

"And that's the exact look I was just talking about."

Blood rushed to his face. She had caught him staring. Again. "Um, what? Me?"

"Yes, you," she rolled her eyes, "Do you think I'm blind?"

"No, no, of course not..." He couldn't think of what to say or how to respond, so he just shrugged and smiled. In fact, he couldn't think at all.

Kate set Joey back in her lap and leaned on Castle's shoulder. "I think I like this," she said, "what do you think?"

He took in a deep breath and shifted so his arm was around her shoulders and she snuggled closer to him. -It was too good to be true.- "I think it's great. I can't imagine having a better night."

Mal was still staring at him from across the room, and it was as if the cat had given him a nod of approval before slinking off to find a place to sleep.

Castle began to wonder if the miracles would ever cease, but then decided not to question the universe. The night had turned out perfect, after all.


End file.
